The relationship between exposure to and preference for violent video games and aggressive cognitions was examined in a longitudinal study. At the beginning (T1) and the end (T2) of a school-year, 349 twelve to sixteen year old adolescents in Germany reported their use of and attraction to violent electronic games and completed measures of hostile attributional style and endorsement of aggressive norms. Gender and trait aggression were considered as antecedents of violent video game usage and liking. Both girls and boys reported regular game play, but highly aggressive boys showed a particular attraction to violent games. In accordance with previous research, cross-sectional results at T1 showed a positive relationship between exposure to violent video games and aggression-enhancing cognitions. Significant relationships were found between attraction to violent games and the acceptance of norms condoning physical aggression. This finding was qualified by a moderator effect of trait aggression: highly aggressive adolescents who reportedThe relationship between exposure to and preference for violent video games and aggressive cognitions was examined in a longitudinal study. At the beginning (T1) and the end (T2) of a school-year, 349 twelve to sixteen year old adolescents in Germany reported their use of and attraction to violent electronic games and completed measures of hostile attributional style and endorsement of aggressive norms. Gender and trait aggression were considered as antecedents of violent video game usage and liking. Both girls and boys reported regular game play, but highly aggressive boys showed a particular attraction to violent games. In accordance with previous research, cross-sectional results at T1 showed a positive relationship between exposure to violent video games and aggression-enhancing cognitions. Significant relationships were found between attraction to violent games and the acceptance of norms condoning physical aggression. This finding was qualified by a moderator effect of trait aggression: highly aggressive adolescents who reported a high amount of exposure to violent games were most likely to accept aggressive strategies in dealing with interpersonal conflicts. Furthermore, violent electronic games were linked indirectly to hostile attributional style through aggressive norms. They influence information processing in ambiguous situations in terms of the attribution of hostile intent, which can be seen as an important antecedent of aggressive behavior). Using hierarchical regression analysis to relate T1 and T2 data, different models of causality concerning the link of media violence and aggression were tested. Findings suggest a stronger link between video game exposure at T1 and physical aggression at T2 than between aggression at T1 and exposure to games at T2 for both genders, supporting the hypothesis that violence in video games affects young players’ readiness to aggress. Mediation analyses further revealed that exposure to violent games at T1 influenced behavioral tendencies at T2 via an increase of aggressive norms, which is consistent with social cognitive explanations of long term effects of media violence on aggression.…